4 Alternatives to a Wedding Registry

Weddings are a time of joy, family and friends, and gifts. It is a long-standing tradition for couples to receive wedding presents as a celebration of their new union, and wedding registries are helpful for giving guests an idea of what to buy. However, some people may not want a traditional wedding registry for any number of reasons. Here are some good ideas for you if registering for gifts just isn’t your style.

Guest's Choice
While this might be a bit of a gamble, letting your guests decide on their own what to give you is always an option if you don’t want to mess with a registry. You may run into complications such as receiving gifts that you won’t use, duplicate gifts, or styles that clash with what you already have. But, each gift does come with the special knowledge that your friends and family thought you would like this particular gift. Sometimes it is just more meaningful to receive a gift you didn’t ask for rather than get something you already knew about.

Charitable Donation
Instead of spending money on things you may not need, you can instead ask for charitable donations to any charity or nonprofit of your choosing. If you don’t know what to ask for and can’t think of anything you need then you can at least give back. If you do decide to have your guests donate instead of finding gifts, be sure to pick a charity or nonprofit that you not only like, but that uses their money well.

Ask for Money
If you don’t need anything for your home, consider just asking for money instead. It may be difficult to figure out exactly how to ask for money instead of gifts, but doing this instead of a traditional registry can allow you pay to for something like a down payment on a house or even put a good chunk of money towards loans you already have. While you should still accept gifts from people who really want to give you something, asking for money can turn into a fiscally beneficial alternative to a traditional registry.

Honeymoon gifts
While similar to simply asking for money, this option allows guests to have a clear image of how their money will be spent. Instead of applying the money to anything, you simply communicate that the money is paying for the honeymoon that you and your spouse have been dreaming of. Not only will this save you a lot of money on an expensive part of getting married, but it will let your wedding guests really feel like you are directly benefitting from their money rather than it disappearing into your finances.